PORTLAND, OREGON -- Ben Crabtree reaches out to grab some 6x12 timber that will help with the seismic upgrades on the old Telegram Building on SW 11th Avenue and Washington in August 2003. The building has been gutted and is now being strengthened and remodeled.
(Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian)

Multnomah County and city of Portland officials want to make it easier for some property owners to borrow money for costly seismic upgrades.

The program would apply to commercial, industrial and multi-family residential property owners, after state lawmakers last week approved a bill giving cities and counties the ability to finance loans or entice private lenders to do so.

Commissioner Jules Bailey said the county would be willing to place any uncollected debt from a bank onto a lender's annual property tax bill.

"It gives banks security to lend, so they'll give lower interest rates and longer terms which makes it more likely building owners will be able to afford it," Bailey said.

Senate Bill 85 passed with ease at the House on Thursday and cleared the Senate last month.

The legislation's sponsor, Rep. Deborah Boone, D-Cannon Beach, said the bill came from the Portland Development Commission and was a recommendation from the Oregon Resilience Plan, a document aimed at preparing the state for significant earthquakes.

Supporters say they want owners of unreinforced masonry buildings to spend the dollars needed to keep their buildings, many built before 1940, from crumbling onto the sidewalks and streets if an earthquake hits.

Walt Pelett, owner of City Liquidators Furniture Warehouse on Southeast Third Avenue, bought his building in the 1970s, he said. He agrees that upgrading his 110-year-old building for any purpose is expensive, especially for seismic stability.

He said he would consider participating in the county's program.

"I think it's good idea for seismic work to be done, but I'm not sure of the long-term effects if you don't do it," Pelett said. "Some of these buildings have been around forever, and we don't have many earthquakes."

More than 1,200 of those buildings sit in Portland, Peter Englander, of the city's Development Commission, told lawmakers this month.

The cost to upgrade a building to "life/safety" standards can cost $800,000 to $1.6 million on a 40,000-square-foot apartment or commercial building, McMonies said. Most owners already have a mortgage on their property, and secondary loans are difficult to finance, he added.

According to the legislation, cities and counties can use dollars they get from revenue bonds to create lending programs, or they facilitate lending for private banks. It's up to the cities and counties to establish the parameters of the programs.

Multnomah County and Portland have already been working to establish a lending program for energy efficiency upgrades called Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy, or C-PACE, Bailey said.

Senate Bill 85 allows the county to add seismic upgrades to the C-PACE program that should launch in October, he said. Details for the program are being developed and could likely target owners of the city's Central Eastside Industrial District, he said.

"If we can use this same tool to help upgrade their buildings for earthquake safety, it's a win for jobs and a win safety," Bailey said.

For property owners of single-family homes, some nonprofits, such as Clean Energy Works, offer solutions for seismic upgrades, said Elizabeth Edwards, who lobbied for the bill for the city of Portland.